, Greensheve," whispered Dick, "follow me up here; lie flat upon
your face, that ye may be the less seen; and be ever ready to give me a
hand if I fall foully on the other side."

And so saying, he dropped into the garden.

It was all pitch dark; there was no light in the house. The wind
whistled shrill among the poor shrubs, and the surf beat upon the beach;
there was no other sound. Cautiously Dick footed it forth, stumbling
among bushes, and groping with his hands; and presently the crisp noise
of gravel underfoot told him that he had struck upon an alley.

Here he paused, and taking his crossbow from where he kept it concealed
under his long tabard, he prepared it for instant action, and went
forward once more with greater resolution and assurance. The path led
him straight to the group of buildings.

All seemed to be sorely dilapidated: the windows of the house were
secured by crazy shutters; the stables were open and empty; there was no
hay in the hayloft, no corn in the corn-box. Any one would have supposed
the place to be deserted; but Dick had good reason to think otherwise.
He continued his inspection, visiting the offices, trying all the
windows. At length he came round to the sea-side of the house, and
there, sure enough, there burned a pale light in one of the upper
windows.

He stepped back a little way, till he thought he could see the movement
of a shadow on the wall of the apartment. Then he remembered that in
the stable his groping hand had rested for a moment on a ladder, and he
returned with all despatch to bring it. The ladder was very short, but
yet, by standing on the topmost round, he could bring his hands as high
as the iron bars of the window; and, seizing these, he raised his body
by main force until his eyes commanded the interior of the room.

Two persons were within: the first he readily knew to be Dame Hatch; the
second, a tall and beautiful and grave young lady, in a long,
embroidered dress--could that be Joanna Sedley? his old wood companion,
Jack, whom he had thought to punish with a belt?

He dropped back again to the top round of the ladder in a kind of
amazement. He had never thought of his sweetheart as of so superior a
being, and he was instantly taken with a feeling of diffidence. But he
had little opportunity for thought. A low "Hist!" sounded from close by,
and he hastened to descend the ladder.

"Who goes?" he whispered.

"Greensheve," came the reply, in tones similar